Pocket Rocketman to throttle back after Worlds

NAGOYA: With Los Angeles 2028 on the horizon, track cycling great Azizulhasni Awang admitted that he will have to ease off the gas after the Shanghai World Championships on Oct 14-18 and recover after what has been a hectic season for the former world keirin champion.

Azizulhasni led the national squad to a one gold, one silver and two bronze haul at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. The cycling competition concluded on Friday.

The 38-year-old won the men's keirin gold and also took bronze in the men's individual sprint at the Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka.

Despite his advancing years, Azizulhasni has been in the form of his life and has won every major keirin event he has raced in this year across the World Cup series (two gold), Glasgow Commonwealth Games and now the Aichi-Nagoya Games.

Azizulhasni still has one more big event to race in this year - the Shanghai world meet - which also marks the start of the Olympic qualifying window for LA 2028.

"I am happy to achieve a hat-trick of golds this year (across World Cup, Glasgow, Aichi-Nagoya), it has been gold after gold this season," said Azizulhasni.

"I now have to hang on until the world championships, we will see how it goes. It is going to be difficult to hold this form but I will try my best. Shanghai will be the first qualifying event for LA 2028.

"I hope that nobody will be surprised that I will be backing-off after the world championships.

"I will have to slow down. I need to recover both mentally and physically.

"I will need to focus on my foundation and improve in the gym to make sure that over the next two years in the lead-up to LA 2028, I will be in the best form."

Izzah Izzati Asri was also in fine form in Shizuoka, leading the women's team sprint squad (Aliana Azizan, Nur Alyssa Farid, Anis Amira Rosidi) to silver and also clinching a breakthrough bronze in the women's keirin.

It was Malaysia's first women's keirin medal at the Asian Games since Fatehah Mustapa's silver at Incheon 2014.

Alyssa, 20, also had a fine Asian Games debut. She finished fifth in the keirin final and was fourth in the individual sprint.